Colonizing the Realm of Words: The Transformation of Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India (SUNY series in Hindu Studies)

__Details the transformation of Tamil literary culture that came with colonialism and the encounter with Western modernity.__ Colonizing the Realm of Words 1 Colonizing the Realm of Words 4 Contents 8 List of Figures and Tables 12 Preface and Acknowledgments 14 List of Abbreviations 20 Note on Transliteration, Pronunciation, and Translations of Tamil Primary Sources 22 1: Introduction 26 Colonizing the Realm of Words: Literature and Colonialism 29 Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India 37 How to Ignore a Century of Literary Production 40 A Century of Cultural Change 44 In Search of a Lost Literature: The Chapters of This Book 52 2: Mapping the Universe of the Pulavar: Ti. Minatcicuntaram Pillai (1815–1876) and the Field of Traditional Literary Practices 58 Pulavar Education and Pre-Modern Tamil Poetics 62 The Pulavars’ Genres: Pirapantam Works and Temple Myths (talapuranam) 80 Scholarship in the Name of the Lord: Monasteries as Patrons 82 When One’s Fame Rises to the Heavens: The Pulavars’ Economy of Praise 87 “Addressing the Assembly of Poets” (avaiyatakkam) 99 The Public Premiere (arankerram) 101 Occasional Poems (tanippatal) and Epistolary Poems (cıttukkavi) 104 The Spoken and the Written Word: Composition, Performance, and Transmission 109 Of Gods and Kings: Themes and Contents of Pulavar Literature 112 The Uses of Akam Poetics in the Nineteenth Century: The Kulatturkkovai (1853) 115 Makavittuvan T. Mınatcicuntaram Pillai: A Poets’ Poet 126 3: Pulavars and Potentates: Structures of Literary Patronage at the Zamindars’ Courts and Beyond 128 Literature and Rituals of Courtly Representation 131 The System of Literary Patronage at the Zamindars’ Courts 136 A “Who Is Who” of Nineteenth-Century Royal Patrons and Their Poets 141 Thanjavur 142 Pudukkottai 146 Ramnad and Sivagangai 147 Smaller Zamindaris 153 Of Beauty and Benevolence: Themes of Courtly Literature 157 Kama’s Arrows Whizzing Past the King: Royal Panegyrics and Eroticism in the Cetupati viralivitututu 169 The Pulavar in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Changes in Patronage 184 4: Toward the Modern Tamil Author: The Colonial Critique of the “Vernacular” and Mayuram Vetanayakam Pillai (1826–1889) as an Agent of Change 190 Mayuram Vetanayakam Pillai: A Biographical Reconstruction 196 Writing for “the moral improvement of the Natives of India”: The Nıtinul (1859) 205 Law, Women’s Education and Devotional Poetry: Vetanayakam Pillai’s Other Writings 218 5: The Emergence of the Tamil Novel 230 The History of Prathapa Mudaliar (1879): An “approximation to a novel”? 233 The History of Suguna Sundari (1887): A “longwinded moral tale, weary and unprofitable”? 250 The Fatal Rumor or The History of Kamalambal (1893–1895): “Vedanta through fiction”? 257 Further Comparisons 262 6: Epilogue 272 Appendix 1: The Dating of the Cetupati viralivitututu Revisited 278 Appendix 2: Chronological Table of the Earliest Tamil Novels Published Before 1900 282 Appendix 3: Original Tamil Texts Quoted and Annotations 288 Glossary 320 References 324 Index 366 Details The Transformation Of Tamil Literary Culture That Came With Colonialism And The Encounter With Western Modernity. A True Tour De Force, This Book Documents The Transformation Of One Indian Literature, Tamil, Under The Impact Of Colonialism And Western Modernity. While Tamil Is A Living Language, It Is Also India's Second Oldest Classical Language Next To Sanskrit, And Has A Literary History That Goes Back Over Two Thousand Years. On The Basis Of Extensive Archival Research, Sascha Ebeling Tackles A Host Of Issues Pertinent To Tamil Elite Literary Production And Consumption During The Nineteenth Century. These Include The Functioning And Decline Of Traditional Systems In Which Poet-scholars Were Patronized By Religious Institutions, Landowners, And Local Kings; The Anatomy Of Changes In Textual Practices, Genres, Styles, Poetics, Themes, Tastes, And Audiences; And The Role Of Literature In The Politics Of Social Reform, Gender, And Incipient Nationalism. The Work Concludes With A Discussion Of The Most Striking Literary Development Of The Time{u2014}the Emergence Of The Tamil Novel. Introduction -- Mapping The Universe Of The Pulavar -- Pulavars And Potentates : Structures Of Literary Patronage At The Zamindars' Courts And Beyond -- Towards The Modern Tamil Author : The Colonial Critique Of The Vernacular And Mayuram -- The Emergence Of The Tamil Novel -- Epilogue. Sascha Ebeling. Based On The Author's Thesis (doctoral)--universität Zu Köln, 2005. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A true tour de force, this book documents the transformation of one Indian literature, Tamil, under the impact of colonialism and Western modernity. While Tamil is a living language, it is also India's second oldest classical language next to Sanskrit, and has a literary history that goes back over two thousand years. On the basis of extensive archival research, Sascha Ebeling tackles a host of issues pertinent to Tamil elite literary production and consumption during the nineteenth century. These include the functioning and decline of traditional systems in which poet-scholars were patronized by religious institutions, landowners, and local kings; the anatomy of changes in textual practices, genres, styles, poetics, themes, tastes, and audiences; and the role of literature in the politics of social reform, gender, and incipient nationalism. The work concludes with a discussion of the most striking literary development of the timeùthe emergence of the Tamil novel. --Book Jacket